Kiwi flies bomber solo to strike at Berlin during World War II mission gone awryMalcolm Hopwood
Lawrence Francis Mabey, of the RNZAF, made a remarkable, emergency bombing run over Berlin. It is a story his son Michael continues to piece together.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Lawrence Mabey, from Palmerston North, was one of a select group of airmen who helped to win World War II.
In Hollywood they'd probably say their single action in bombing Berlin and other targets in August 1940 was the turning point in the Allied victory nearly five years later. What they did caused the German leader, Adolf Hitler, to change his tactics.
He was outraged Germany was bombed. He instructed his Luftwaffe to turn its attention on British cities.The result was The Blitz. The RAF, on its knees, was given a reprieve, enabling it to rebuild in the regions while Germany targeted London.
Lawrence Mabey, known as Lou, would know little of this. He was shot down, injured, sent to a German prisoner of war camp and spent his time attempting to escape so he could rejoin the war.
His story, as part of the raids over Germany, was even more remarkable and is the basis for a movie about a heroic action thatcontributed to the eventual Allied victory.
But let's go back. Mabey was a good air gunner, who'd already distinguished himself by shooting down German aircraft. He'd trained at Ōhakea and, by 1940, was a tail gunner in bombers supporting the British Expeditionary Force in France and defending British shipping at sea.
When a German aircraft inadvertently strayed off course and dropped its bombs on London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was incensed. He demanded reprisal missions to take the fight to the Nazis and bomb key strategic positions.
The Vickers Wellington Lawrence Mabey flew over Germany.
Mabey's Wellington Squadron 149, and other squadrons, part of No 3 group, were chosen. Their multiple targets in the final days of August ranged from Berlin, an enemy battleship, Gneisenau, believed to be anchored in Keil Canal, the dockyards alongside and German airfields.
The Wellington's first mission caught the German defences by surprise. It caused minor damage to Berlin and returned successfully, but proved Germany was vulnerable. However two days later the Luftwaffe and anti-aircraft guns were ready for them.
Over Holland, Mabey's Wellington came under attack. Despite taking a circuitous route to Keil Canal, the Wellington was badly damaged by German fighters and the fuselage set on fire. Commanding Officer Flight Lieutenant Paul Vaillant set the bomber on course for Berlin, an alternative target, and gave the order to bail out.
With confusion on board and the communication system destroyed, Mabey never received the instruction. The first he knew was when he saw the crew drift by with their parachutes open.
By then he'd shot down four German fighters – verified in an early BBC documentary – but was trapped by a bullet that had jammed the mechanism in his seat, preventing his release.
His son, Michael Mabey, recalls his father's despair when he realised he was alone in a bomber with smoke billowing through the aircraft. About then the Wellington plummeted downwards, but miraculously corrected itself and returned to its original height and direction. In doing so the rapid descent quelled the flames.
When it didn't crash, a Messerschmitt 109 was sent to finish it off. However, Mabey saw the German fighter manoeuvring to attack and took immediate action despite damage to the hydraulics that powered the gun turret. With the exchange of fire filmed by a German spotter plane, he shot the fighter down then, kicking repeatedly at the seat, finally freed himself.
Mabey struggled through the aircraft to his parachute and, in dismay, discovered it was damaged and unable to be used. There was no-one else on board. At that point he made a decision. To survive the mission he had to fly the Wellington bomber himself.
That sounds impossible, but Mabey had learned some basics with different crews in England and, on one occasion, helped to fly a bomber back to base when the pilot was seriously injured.
However the Wellington was badly damaged. The aircraft that had protected its tail, veered off to bomb other targets. When Lawrence reached the cockpit, he was on his own with enemy shells exploding around him. By the time Vaillant had vacated the cabin, the bomber had been flying by itself away from the initial target and into the heart of Germany.
Lawrence Mabey flew with the Wellington Squadron 149, until he was captured following an emergency landing outside Berlin.
As observed by an American journalist, William Shirer, the Wellington, now on fire from anti-aircraft shells, flew north over Berlin. The same journalist reported in The New York Times that bombs were released at 1.24am on August 28 and an area of three blocks cordoned off.
Years later Mabey commented that his decision to bomb Berlin was not to kill innocent civilians as much as to release his load so a shell didn't detonate a bomb. He also knew the Wellington, with bombs on board, would explode when he crash landed.
With the aircraft dying around him, Mabey could see the distance glow from docklands lit up by British incendiaries and manoeuvred the Wellington towards them. His landing lights were able to distinguish a path near the Kiel Canal and he crash-landed the stricken Wellington on the roadway, coming to a stop alongside the fires.
Fortunately for him, a Kiel fire crew was nearby. They not only extinguished the flames caused by the crash, but rescued the injured sole occupant. In true thorough Germanic style, they also filmed the incident. The cameraman zeroed in on his RNZAF badge, which the family now possesses.
Mabey was treated for injuries suffered in the crash and spent the rest of the war in POW camps, including Stalag 1, 2 and 3. However, he escaped on at least one occasion and spent two days on the run before being caught. In 1945 he was liberated by Allied soldiers after being force marched across Germany.
Like many returned servicemen he spoke little about the raid, his time in POW camps and the horrendous trek across Germany. He returned home, rejoined the RNZAF, then worked for Glaxo and the Palmerston North City Council.
But around Anzac Day 15 years ago, he watched historic war footage with his son, Michael. They viewed a Wellington crashing on to the roadway near the canal and a familiar figure being dragged from the wreckage.
"Dad, that's you," said Michael. "I recognise the badge."
Finally, with persuasion, Mabey started talking about the war, his training at Ohakea, his escapades in Britain, his other combat experience, his isolation in POW camps, his escape attempts and finally the reprisal mission.
Michael Mabey is travelling to England in May to piece together more about his father's heroics during World War II.
Since then Michael Mabey, a team leader with a Palmerston North power company, has been researching his father's war record. It started at Ōhakea, where Lawrence Mabey was one of 47 volunteers, and included dramas at sea on the ship transporting them to England, to his liberation.
He has accumulated extensive records, information and memorabilia about his dad including photos of the bomber – Vickers Wellington P9272 – from both English and German sources, but continues to seek further film footage, including an interview by Sir David Frost with Vaillant, who'd parachuted into Holland with the remainder of his crew and was rounded up by German troops.
Michael Mabey is aware a 1940s movie, based on eyewitness accounts, was made by Ealing Studios about the No 3 group. His father is mentioned, but the bomber's final outcome was never disclosed. A BBC documentary in the 1970s comprises similar material. It includes descriptions from Flight Lieutenant Vaillant and other crew members, but none of them knew Lawrence Mabey had survived or what happened to the bomber.
"Through conversations with my father and the BBC information I knew they were on the mark," Michael Mabey says. "Only Dad knew what happened, but he was flying alone, survived and sent to a POW camp, the same one as Douglas Bader."
Further information comes from an American version of The Guinness Book Of Records, where Lawrence Mabey is referred to as "one of the greatest air gunners of the war".
A drawing of Lawrence Mabey taking control of the failing bomber, drawn by his son Michael.
he died in 2009 and now only Michael Mabey knows the incredible story from his father's recollections and information and footage he has assembled. He believes his father's account is one of the greatest untold stories of WWII, a story of incredible courage and sacrifice.
How good was he? In a book written about the raid, it recalls 75 Squadron, part of No 3 group, turned back because of the firepower and presence of German aircraft, but Vaillant kept flying because he had faith in his tail gunner to keep them safe.
Michael Mabey leaves for England in early May to further his research at the RAF Museum and Archives. He's been told that Vaillant was interviewed on BBC Breakfast in 2004 and Frost asked him about his tail gunner. He replied that one of his wishes before he died was to shake hands with Lawrence Mabey if ever he'd survived the ordeal.
Michael Mabey would like to follow the interview up and, during his visit, find out if there are any survivors of the mission. He will also seek out a monument in Britain that was unveiled "to the unknown rear gunner known as Lou and the other air gunners who flew during the Battle of Britain".
"There are questions about the flight, the route taken and the outcome of the mission I want answered," Michael Mabey says.
"As we approach the 80th anniversary of the raid, I will redouble my efforts, cross reference my research records and follow any path that will give my father the recognition he deserves."
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